Your Daily Dose of Climate Hope: September 12, 2024
Food waste reduction efforts are paying off!
Food waste is a big problem, but food banks and food-arbitrage apps offer scalable solutions.
Tell your state leaders to support and promote food waste reduction efforts!
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Reasons For Hope
Food waste is a big issue. The UN Environment Program reports that in 2022, human civilization wasted over a billion tonnes of food, with 13% of all food produced by humans on Earth getting wasted at the production and supply chain levels, then an additional 19% getting wasted at the retail and household levels. In addition to being a sad waste, rotting, uneaten food often produces climate-disrupting methane when immured in landfills, with the EPA estimating that 58% of methane emissions from U.S. landfills are due to food waste.
Of course, on one level food waste is a really good problem to have - humanity produces vast amounts of food, more than enough to feed everyone! - but it’s also an opportunity for us to do even better. Food banks have long been at the forefront of this work, and their positive impact is immense. The latest annual report from the Global Foodbanking Network found that in 2023, member food banks across 50 countries served 1.7 billion meals to over 40 million people in need, mitigating an estimated 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
More recently, reducing food waste has also become a business opportunity. Apps like Olio and the rapidly growing Too Good To Go connect customers to nearby restaurants and retailers willing to offload food that would otherwise be thrown away at discount prices. A classic win-win, fighting inflation and inefficiency simultaneously!
State leaders are well placed to support and promote food waste reduction efforts, both charitable and commercial, with laws, regulations, incentives, and public influence. Hearing from their constituents helps move issues like food waste higher on a long priority list.
Tell your state leaders to support and promote food waste reduction efforts!
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